1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to furniture. In particular, the invention relates to an easel that can be converted into a bed for children.
2. Description of related art including information disclosed under 37 C.F.R. .sctn..sctn. 1.97-1.99
Schools, day care centers, and homes with small children often have small beds or cots on which children can sleep. Young children often need to take naps in the afternoon, and small beds or cots keep the sleeping children off of the floor.
Small children are often taught arts and crafts, such as painting, using easels to hold the art materials. Easels sometimes consist of a pair of boards, hinged together at the top, so that each board can serve as an easel for a child.
Floor space is often a scarce resource at schools, day care centers, and homes. When furniture and other items are not in use, they must be stored or at least moved out of the way of other activities.
If a piece of furniture can be used for more than one activity, there will be a savings of both money and storage space. For example, if an easel can be converted into a bed, there will be no need to buy a bed in addition to the easel. Also, the easel would be used during nap time, rather than stored. The storage space required for easels and beds will be reduced substantially in half.